New Acid

In collaboration with the City of Torino, Artissima presents New Acid (2019) by Basim Magdy (Assiut, Egypt, 1977) at the Zoological Garden – Parco Michelotti, in collaboration with Hunt Kastner, Prague.

The short film, shot on 16mm, depicts zoo animals within their enclosures exchanging illogical messages that connect them to the wider world. Through a series of chats, in which giraffes, ostriches, crocodiles, peacocks, and dolphins converse and mock each other, a digital communication emerges that is both absurd and mysterious, as the animals question the fate of their species to an unspecified interlocutor. Magdy uses acidic color tones combined with hypnotic, minimalist drone sound design to produce a posthuman film that seems to humanize the animals.

The Parco Michelotti area is further enhanced by collaboration with C2C Festival, Italy’s largest indoor music festival and one of the most renowned avant-pop events worldwide. For the second consecutive year, C2C Festival curates a site-specific musical selection, inviting visitors to wander randomly through the former zoological garden.